In a bid to match the strategic road and rail network that China has built along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, railways minister Suresh Prabhu has laid the foundation stone for the final location survey of the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh rail line that would be the world’s highest rail link. The formal ceremony of the survey was held at Leh on Tuesday.

This has scripted a historic chapter for Ladakh that was considered a landlocked area particularly during the winters when the high passes get blocked due to heavy snow.

The all-weather rail link is expected not only to further promote tourism in the wonderland of Ladakh, but would also enable swift movement of troops and heavy ammunition towards the LAC with China and also the Line of Control (LOC) with Pakistan.

The dire need of a reliable communication link with Ladakh was felt in 1999 during the war with Pakistan that had occupied Indian pickets in Kargil during the winters. As the road links at that time were snapped due to snow, the army had to carry arms and ammunition by air.

The 498-km-long rail track beginning from Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh will wind through Mandi, Kullu and Manali before climbing through the high passes.

The project is strategically important due to its proximity to the Sino-Indian border and estimated to cost more than Rs. 22,831 crore.

Completion of the rail line would make India carry troops and equipment to the border it shares with China and Pakistan in the cold desert. This will reduce the travel distance by half between Delhi and Leh, which at present takes four days.

Speaking on the occasion, Prabhu said that with the motto of “One Nation, Strong Nation, the Government of India is committed to link every nook and corner of the country and bring the people of different regions closer, and opening of Bilaspur-Manali-Leh Railway line is an important step in this direction that will certainly benefit Ladakh. This would increase tourism in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh and facilitate quicker movement of troops and equipment.

Taglangla station at Taglang La Pass will become the highest railway station in the world at 17,582 ft above the sea level overtaking the current record of Tanggula Railway Station in China at16,686 ft.

Building the rail link will be a tougher challenge for the engineers than the Jammu-Srinagar line. The Bilaspur-Leh rail line will pass through many mountain ranges, high passes, rivers and streams. Tunneling through the Rohtang Pass (13,050 ft), Nakee-La Pass (15,547 ft), Lachulung-La Pass (16,616 ft), Baralacha-La Pass (16,500 ft) and Tanglang-La Pass (17,480 ft) will be the first of its kind challenge before the railway engineers.

Besides, tall bridges shall have to be built on the Chandra and Bhaga rivers that are the origin of the turbulent Chenab river on which one of the world’s highest rail bridge has been built in the Jammu division.